Thursday, January 06, 2011

Causes of migraines

-lower levels of serotonin

What causes the level of serotonin to drop?  - certain foods or behaviours that produce more negative emotions than positive emotions.

Foods:
MSG - had some of that in the Vietnamese spring rolls, sausages and deli meats
nitrites - had some of that in the 2 steak dinners I had, back to back on the weekend; Vietnamese spring rolls, sausages and deli meats
tyramine - found in chocolate (have been having lots of that lately), yogourt (part of my regular diet, so this should be fine); aged cheeses (none)
caffeine - had been drinking 2 cups of black tea/day during the 2 weeks of Christmas holidays; had been drinking 3 cups/week prior to the Holiday Break.  This would constitute a sudden increase in the intake of caffeine

Behaviours:
- was exercising less during the holidays
- had left work to the 2nd week of holidays, therefore creating as sense of anxiety
- had left some work undone; forgot to bring home calendar to prep for Monday's class > created a lot of anxiety
- not expressing my anxiety often enough to release it
- depression (realized that I may have been suffering from this disorder since my teenage years)

Action Plan:
1.  must must must excercise every day
2.  complain more and share my anxiety with others to release it
3.  avoid procrastination
4.  avoid eating those foods at high amounts within a short period of time (have stopped drinking black tea since Sunday night)

No comments: